


Mistakes

by rnedagemacaroni



Series: Domestication is Key [4]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Derogatory Language, Discrimination, Established Relationship, Humanstuck, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27406477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rnedagemacaroni/pseuds/rnedagemacaroni
Summary: Your first mistake was not noticing, followed by a series of other mistakes that would change your dynamic for good.
Relationships: Eridan Ampora/Sollux Captor
Series: Domestication is Key [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1928275
Kudos: 18





	Mistakes

**Author's Note:**

> There will be some harsh anti-LGBTQ language used in fic so if that bothers you, please be warned and perhaps skip this.

It was a Monday when it happens and of course it is because Mondays suck ass and you should have known that something horrible would happen today. You had a dream about it and everything and you always trusted what your dreams told you as a majority of the time they came true. 

Rewinding briefly, however, to the day before, you and Eridan had decided it was a perfect day to try and go on a date. You had chosen to go to the aquarium in the next city over. No one you knew should’ve been there, no one you knew should’ve seen you, you should’ve noticed him following you, you should’ve known he would be the one to start shit. 

Your date had gone perfectly, you had never seen Eridan so happy and in his element than when you both had started walking through all the exhibits and he was rambling off facts and knowledge about every fish, bird and aquatic mammal. You kept smiling like an idiot because your boyfriend was so cute and such a huge dork. You had felt comfortable enough that as you passed through one of the darker lit exhibits, you grabbed his hand and entwined your fingers with his. You loved the blush that spread across his face as he tried to hide his face in his scarf, loved the way he held your hand back and tried to act like it was nothing (but you knew better). 

Once you had almost literally covered every square inch of the aquarium, even going back to look at some of Eridan’s favorites, you both agreed it was time to get something to eat and you had gone to this small diner not too far from the aquarium. 

Just some little hole in the wall place and that was where you had made your next mistake. Eridan had been fiddling with a sea horse keychain you had bought him, putting it on his keyring and he just looked so cute concentrating and you did it without thinking really. You leaned over and kissed him, surprising him. You laugh at his expression because, really, he should be getting used to this, but every time he turns into this blushing stuttering mess and it’s just the cutest thing ever you think to yourself as you sit back and hold one of his hands in yours as he sputters about time and place for everything. 

You roll your eyes, but let him ramble, you know he’s just embarrassed, but you also know how much he loves it. 

Since it was still early enough, the two of you decide to just wander around the town for a bit once you were done eating. It was more of Eridan dragging you into every antique store you came across, he had a bizarre obsession with old things that had some sort of history behind them, no matter how little or unimportant that history was. You didn’t mind, though, since you had found a novelty Star Wars lunchbox for pretty cheap that was definitely going on display in your room with all the other rare items you had. 

As you made your way back to the car, it was starting to get dark and before Eridan could move around to the driver's side, you grabbed his hand and shoved him against the car and proceeded to press your lips against his, your hands resting on his hips. Normally he would’ve shoved you off right away, being in such a public place, however, the streets were pretty empty and it wasn’t terribly well lit where you were so he let you do what you wanted. 

It didn’t go much further than heavy kisses, your hands stayed on his hips, not wandering, but when you pulled away you smirked at him and promised him more later if he was good. He huffed and blew a stray strand of hair out of his face, but nodded. The drive home had been comfortable, good conversation, teasing and laughter (some dirty talk on your part because you loved how flustered your boyfriend could get sometimes). 

Hindsight is 20/20 and, again, you should’ve noticed that there was a car following you the whole way home, but you didn’t and when Eridan dropped you off at your house and the two of you had a quick make-out session just outside your door and by quick you mean like three kisses before your dad opened the door and pulled you inside by your ear because you were late and you had school the next day and you could hear Eridan laughing as he told you goodbye and fuck him for finding this funny. 

If you had paid attention, you would have noticed that same car that had followed you all the way back parked across the street, would have noticed it drive off when Eridan finally left, but... You didn’t. That was your next mistake. 

You had slept horribly, your dream was fuzzy and fading as you woke up, all you could remember was lots of people, lots of yelling and... Fighting? All you know, is it didn’t leave a very good feeling with you. 

It was pretty cold outside and Eridan had offered to give you a ride to school, but you declined saying that you didn’t want to attract that kind of attention. You didn’t live that far from the school anyways and it’s not as if you weren’t used to walking in this kind of weather so Eridan didn’t say much else besides a quick “See you at school then and be safe”. 

It was a fifteen-minute walk to school and if you had checked your phone you would have noticed twelve missed calls from Eridan and multiple texts warning you, you would have also noticed Karkat trying to get ahold of you, but you didn’t... And that was your final mistake. 

You could already tell something was wrong when you walked up and people were staring and whispering. Normally you wouldn’t have paid much attention to it, but it was so blatant and your paranoia was getting the better of you with that one. You walked into the main hallway and started walking towards your locker and that’s when you saw it and it made your blood run cold. 

Someone must have taken a bat or something to it because the door to your locker was busted and all your things had been thrown about, but worst of all were the large black spray-painted letters over the door... 

_“FAGGOT”_

_“COCKSUCKER”_

You stared wide-eyed at the letters and you looked around and people were still pointing and whispering, laughing behind their hands, judging you and watching you with condescending eyes. 

You look back at your locker and should you even bother picking your things up (it’s not as if you had important things in there), should you just turn and run, should you tell someone? A million thoughts ran through your head as you just stood there, the whispers of everyone around you like a thousand sirens going off in your head at once. 

You jump when someone suddenly comes up and grabs you by your arm and starts dragging you down the hall. You look down to see Karkat moving quickly, he takes you down several halls before shoving you into an unused classroom. 

He shuts the door behind the two of you and you see Eridan is also there, but... 

“ED, what the fuck happened?” You say worried as you walk over to where he’s holding his scarf up to his bloodied nose. 

“Zahak is what happened.” Karkat says, his arms crossed over his chest. 

You look at your best friend confused, “What does that mean?” 

“Eq saw us yesterday...” Eridan says quietly as he pulls his scarf away from his face, scrunching his face at all the blood now staining the fabric, “He saw us and followed us all day yesterday like a fuckin’ freak.” 

“What...?” 

“He was in the next town over visiting family or some shit and saw you guys and like the absolute fucking nosy fucker he is followed you two and saw everything.” Karkat explained, “Nepeta said he wasn’t too pleased with someone of Eridan’s status hanging around with...” He trailed off because really how does he say it without sounding like a complete asshole. 

You get it, though, without him needing to say it, so you say it instead, “Hanging around with a poor faggot loser like me?” You scoff, “Fucking figures, right when I think something good happens in my life, the world says ‘no fuck you Sollux’!” 

“Don’t say shit like that.” Eridan narrows his eyes at you, taking his scarf off and tossing it onto the desk next to him. 

You glare at him, “Well what else am I supposed to say?” 

He was about to say something, but Karkat interrupts, “Hey, can we focus on the issue at hand here before you guys get into a lovers quarrel?” 

You and Eridan both look at him, “Equius told all his jock buddies and of course they told people and long story short the whole fucking school knows and most of them aren’t too keen on it all.” 

You roll your eyes, “Obviously...” You look over at Eridan, whose nose has stopped bleeding, but he still looks pretty bad, “Is that what happened to you, did they get you?” 

He nods, “They cornered me out in the parkin’ lot like a bunch a’ fuckin’ cowards,” He tells you, “Luckily, Kar and Gam had been walkin’ by and helped...” 

“I didn’t really do much besides drag you away,” Karkat says, “Really you should be thanking Gamzee for being so fucking weird and scary that no one wants to mess with him.” 

You set your bag down on the desk with Eridan’s scarf and kneel down in front of your boyfriend, really assessing the damage to him. His nose was messed up and his lip was busted, he wasn’t wearing his glasses (did he even have them or were they out in the parking lot?) and he had a pretty nasty bruise forming on his cheek. 

He watches you as you stare at him and he tries to give you an assuring smile, but it comes off as more of a pained look than anything. You furrow your eyebrows in concern at him before standing up again and looking at the small Cancer standing by the door. 

“So, what am I supposed to do?” You ask, “Just sit in here for the rest of my life or what?” 

Karkat sighs, “I really don’t think you want to go out there, it’s not going to be pretty,” He says, “Equius and his ragtag jock buddies are pretty much out for blood at this point and I don’t get it, it’s not like you guys are bothering anyone.” 

This is what you had been hoping to avoid, not that you didn’t want to be open with your relationship, but, again, you came from a pretty small town and it wasn’t the most forward-thinking town either. You knew this was what was going to happen and _fuck_ why do your dreams always have to come true? You look Eridan over again and you could feel anger bubbling up inside of you, anger over them thinking they could get away with this, think they had a right to treat Eridan like that or you for that matter. 

You take a deep breath and Eridan is looking at you concerned, “Sol?” He asks reaching a hand out to you, but you jerk away from him causing him to flinch. 

You look away from him and shove your hands into your jacket pockets, glaring at nothing in particular while you run through scenarios in your head before finally settling on a decision on what to do. 

“I don’t like that look on your face, Sollux.” Karkat says as he watches you closely. He knew you better than just about anyone and he could tell you were going to be up to no good. 

“You probably shouldn’t.” You say as you shove your way past him and head out the door into the hallway. 

You stand there for a brief moment before storming off down the hall and towards the parking lot where you knew Eridan always parked his car. It took you all of five minutes to make it there and holy shit, his car was a fucking wreck. They had taken something to it and smashed the windshield, destroyed the side mirrors, there were a million and a half dents all over the car and derogatory words spray painted all over the once pristine white paint. 

You glare at the damage and you notice there by the front right tire were a pair of broken glasses, Eridan’s most likely so you walk over and pick them up. The frames were absolutely destroyed and the lenses were cracked. You put the glasses in your pocket when you hear it. 

“Hey fag.” 

You turn around to see a small group walking towards you, all jocks from the football team. Definitely Equius’ friends, but the Sagittarius was nowhere to be seen with them. You recognized some of them, having classes with them and they weren’t the brightest bulbs in the bunch, but you noticed right away the bat one of them had. 

“Come for revenge for your fruit of a boyfriend?” They mock. 

You narrow your eyes, but you don’t say anything, you just watch them, putting your hands in your jacket pockets. 

“You know,” The one with the bat says, “We don’t really need your kind around here, maybe you should just take your cocksucking ass somewhere else.” 

He walks right up to you, he’s shorter than you by a couple inches, but he’s definitely a bigger build. You look down at him with the most uninterested look you could possibly give, despite the fact that your heart was pounding in your chest. 

“Did you hear me assmunch?” He gets right up in your face when you don’t respond. 

You really should’ve just kept your mouth shut, you really should have, but you never were good at controlling what your mouth said, “You keep mentioning ass with me, you sure you aren’t just trying to flirt?” You smirk at him. 

Bad move. 

He gives you a look of absolute disgust and disbelief before he suddenly swings at you, taking you off guard as his fist collides with your face sending you flying back against Eridan’s car. 

Before you could try to fight back in any way, shape or form you were being grabbed by the front of your jacket and thrown to the ground and someone is on top of you pummeling you. You did bring up your arms to cover your face, but suddenly there are other hands on you, pulling your arms away as another fist hits your face. 

You struggle against the body on top of you and manage to get an arm free and swing it in to the side of the person on top of you, hitting them in the side with just enough force to give you enough time to kick them off of you. You jerk your other arm out of its hold and at that point it becomes a bit of a free-for-all between you and the four other guys whom you knew you couldn’t take on, but fuck it if you weren’t going to just sit there and take it. 

Suddenly a voice breaks through and it takes enough of your attention off the fight for just a moment, you see Eridan and Karkat running over, but at that point it’s too late. 

It’s almost as if it happens in slow motion really. 

“Hey _FAGGOT_.” 

You turn just in time to see the metal bat one of the jocks had been holding swings at you and collides with the side of your head and suddenly you’re on the ground with the world fading out around you. The last thing you really remember was the sound of the metal bat clattering as it hits the black top and people scattering. There was a bunch of shouting and there are hands on you and voices and you couldn’t make any of it out as your mind blanks and pass out. 

By the time you wake up, you have no idea where you are, it’s still light outside, that much you can make out. You sit up and your head is killing you, you put a hand up to your head where the pain is shooting out from and... Bandages? You look around and you’re in your room so you stand up from your bed and go to the mirror hanging on the back of your closet door. 

Wow. 

You looked fucking awful. 

You had bandages wrapped around your head, bumps and bruises everywhere else, and you looked down at your left hand and two of your fingers where in stints. What the fuck happened? 

You groan at the pain and walk out of your room, walking down the hall and out into the living room where you see your dad sitting in the armchair reading. He looks up and instantly puts his book down and stands up. 

“Sollux.” He says as he walks over, looking and sounding concerned, “You shouldn’t be up, you need to rest.” 

“What happened?” You ask as you allow him to lead you back to your room. 

“You got into a bit of a fight,” He says vaguely, “Don’t worry about it for now, just get some rest.” 

He gets you back into bed and honestly, it feels good to lie down, your head is spinning and you feel like you got hit by a.... 

“Wait,” You sit up again, “Where’s Eridan? What happened with-” 

You father holds up a hand to stop you, “Eridan is at his house, he’s fine and you need to be more concerned with yourself right now,” He explains, “You and some other kids got into a fight and you got hit over the head with a baseball bat...” 

The memories start flooding back as your father explains everything to you, “What happened to the other kids.” 

“I assure you, things are being taken care of, but don’t worry too much about it.” 

You nod slowly before laying back down, “My head is killing me...” You say. 

Your dad smiles sadly at you, “I’m sure it does, do you want an ice pack?” 

You close your eyes and just nod and you can hear him leave the room. You open your eyes and sit up, looking for your phone and picking it up from where it was charging on the nightstand. You see you have a lot of missed calls and messages. 

You scroll through a few of them, Karkat telling you to call him when you wake up and feel better and to actually try to feel better and don’t be an idiot like that ever again. You laugh a little because Karkat was a good friend who worried to much about an idiot like you. 

You scrolled through more messages and you get to Eridan’s. It’s only one message and it makes you confused, hurt, sad, angry and a bunch of other feelings you couldn’t immediately discern. 

_“I’m sorry.”_

Sorry? Why is he sorry? What did he have to be sorry about? You didn’t have much time to think about it when your dad returned with an ice pack and he makes you put your phone down and lay back, placing the cold pack on your forehead for you. 

He kneels next to your bed, “Do you need anything else?” 

You shake your head no, “I’m good, I’m just gonna lay here and hope this headache goes away.” 

There’s a small silence before he speaks again, “Okay, if you need anything, I’ll be right down the hall.” 

“Mm...” You hum an acknowledgement and you hear him stand up and leave, he closes the door behind him softly. 

You wait until you hear him head far enough down the hall and you remove the ice pack and sit up, grabbing your phone again and dialing and number. You put the phone to your ear and wait, the line trilling one, two, three times before you hear it. 

“Sol?” Eridan’s voice is small and quiet. Why does he sound like that? 

“ED, what the fuck was that message for?” You say without so much as a hello, “What the hell are _you_ apologizing for?” 

You can hear him sniffle, he’s been crying obviously, “Sol, I’m just...” He sighs, “I’m sorry for a lot a’ things...” 

“Like?” You say with a small amount of annoyance. 

“Like getting' you all wrapped up in that, if I had just kept my feelin’s to myself I never would have gotten you mixed up in this and,” He sniffles again, “And you wouldn’t have gotten hurt and none a’ this would a’ happened...” 

“You make it sound like you’ve trapped me into this situation when in reality I was an active and willing participant, ED,” You sound even more annoyed, “You’re starting to sound like a fucking martyr, like KK or some shit, stop it.” 

“But, Sol-” 

“No!” You say loudly (but not too loudly, so your dad doesn’t hear), “Stop blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault, those guys were just assholes and who the fuck cares what they think, honestly, we should be thanking them because now we don’t have to hide anything.” 

There was silence from the other end of the phone so you continue, “Look, ED, shit happens and it was bound to come out that you and I are dating, it just so happens that that bestiality fuckface is the one who discovered us.” 

“...I guess.” He says quietly. 

You sigh, “...I’m sorry, too.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I ran out there like an idiot and got myself into a bad situation without really thinking of the outcome.” 

There was a momentary silence, “Yeah, you were a big idiot.” 

You smile, “Well one of us has to be the idiot in this relationship, might as well be me, right?” 

“No one could do it better than you, Sol.” You could hear the smile in his voice. 

“It’s a talent, what can I say?” 

He actually laughs a bit at that which makes you smile more. Another thought hits you. 

“Hey, what are you going to do about your car?” 

“Hm?” He sounded confused almost, “What do you mean?” 

“I mean, wasn’t it totally destroyed basically?” 

“Kind of...” He says, “It’ll get fixed, but my dad is pissed at the kids who did the damage, I have a rental in the meantime...” 

You nod, even though you know he can’t see it, “I wonder what’s going to happen to them.” 

“I know for sure they’re bein’ expelled, but...” He pauses, “Sol, your dad can be really fuckin’ scary when he’s pissed.” 

You laugh at that, “Most people think he’s a pretty quiet guy, but he could chew you up and spit you out in two seconds flat if he wanted to.” 

“No shit,” Eridan says, “Watchin’ him yell at the principle was scary and, for real, Sol, I thought he was going to jump across that desk and throttle him or worse.” 

You laugh more and then hiss in pain as it makes your head hurt, “Ow, fuck...” 

“Are you okay?” Eridan sounded concerned. 

“I’m fine, I just have this lovely bump on the side of my head.” 

“They got you pretty good,” He said, “I really thought they had killed you for a second there, there was so much blood comin’ out a’ you...” 

“Yeah, head wounds always bleed pretty bad, don’t they?” You say as you place a hand gently over the bandages wrapped around your head. 

“...Yeah.” 

You both are quiet for a long moment, “I’m okay.” You tell him. 

He doesn’t say anything. 

“Really.” 

Still nothing. 

“ED, I’m still here and for the most part okay.” 

“...I know, but,” He hesitates, “I was just really scared, that’s all.” 

You really had to try to think about it from his perspective, watching you get beat up and having your head bashed in with a baseball bat, watching you hit the ground, all the blood you knew there had to have been. You really did freak him out, no doubt about that, and then having to deal with the teachers and parents and all that shit. You were almost glad you had been unconscious. 

“The paramedics got there pretty quick though, so that was good I guess,” He continues, “Your dad was down there in no time and let the ambulance take you while he dealt with everythin’ else,” He explains to you. 

You took in the information he was telling you when another thought hit you, “What about your dad, didn’t he show up?” 

“...No,” He said, “He called the school, but that was about it, not that it really matters.” 

“What do you mean?” You were confused, “His son gets the crap beaten out of him at school and is discriminated against and he can’t show up and stand up for you?” 

“That’s just not how he operates,” He tells you, “I mean, he’s getting' things handled, please just leave it at that for now.” 

You really want to press him, but you also know that now definitely wasn’t the time. You think about things for a moment, “Hey, ED.” 

“Hm?” 

“...Are you still going to go to school tomorrow?” 

“That’s an odd question,” He says, “I mean yeah, I kind a’ have to.” 

“You really don’t _have_ to do anything,” You tell him, “But... If you are...” You hesitate, “Why don’t we go together?” 

There’s a long pause, “Are you goin’ to be okay by tomorrow? Maybe you should stay home...” 

“I’ll be fine,” You assure him, “It’ll take more than a blow from some low life thug to keep this kid down.” 

“Mm... I guess,” He says, not really convinced, “If you feel better by tomorrow,” He pauses, “I’ll pick you up in the mornin’ then.” 

You smile because you can almost see the blush on the Aqarius’ face in your mind, “I love you, ED, you know that right?” You say after a while. 

There’s a small sniffle and, oh God, he better not be crying again, “Yeah, I know,” He laughs a little bit, “I love you too, you absolute idiot.” 

“Hey, this absolute idiot is going to show you full on tomorrow why we should take this as a blessing,” You laugh, “I’m talking about hand holding and sloppy make outs in the janitor's closet and enough lunchtime PDA that KK really won’t sit with us anymore.” 

He laughs at that, “Is that a promise?” 

“ED, would I lie to you?” You pause, “...About something like this?” 

“I guess not,” He says, still laughing, “I’m excited to be able to do those things with you without hidin’ you know.” 

You smile and lay back down on your bed, “...Me too.” 

So maybe this had been a shit day, but hey, you get to do real couple-y stuff now in full view and not care who sees, which really... Who cared in the first place? There would always be someone, somewhere who didn’t approve of you or your relationship with Eridan and you were just going to have to deal with that and by deal with it you mean give anyone who says anything against you or your boyfriend the middle finger. 

You loved Eridan and you weren’t about to let some stupid backwards thinking town take that away from you. You would sooner become the town pariah before you gave up a single moment with Eridan. 

The two of you talked for the next hour or so before your dad came in to check on you, telling you to get off the phone and get some real rest. You huff, but do say bye to your boyfriend before hanging up. 

You set your phone to charge again and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling where you had those stupid glow in the dark stars plastered all over the ceiling, a lapse in judgement by your eight-year-old self to put them up there. 

You sigh and close your eyes, thinking about how you couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come. You felt like it was going to be a whole new step for you and Eridan, no longer having to hide and keep everything a secret. Finally, you felt like you could do everything you wanted with him and it was going to be _glorious_. 


End file.
